Shoe sole construction



March 6,1945. 5. KLEVEN SHOE SOLE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 12, 1943 INVENTOR.

SAMUEL L. KLEVEN H TTORNEYS Patented Mar. 6, 1945 SHOE SOLE CONSTRUCTION Samuel L. Kleven, Augusta, Maine Application May 12, 1943, Serial No. 486,651

2 Claims.

This invention relates to outsoles particularly well adapted for play shoes or the like.

Under present conditions which make necessary the conservation of leather, the need for an outsole structure requiring a minimum of leather and combinin good wearing qualities and attractive appearance with economy in manufacture, is Well recognized. Various attempts have been made to provide substitutes for conventional leather outsoles, but these have not proved'acceptable.

In accordance with my invention, I provide an outsole consisting of a fabric body such as a blank of belting impregnated with a waterproof cement to which is stitched an edging strip or trim, preferably of leather, but which may be completed by a thermo-plastic heel portion stitched to the blank. The upper surface of the outsole is marginally coated with a waterproof cement with the coat extending inwardly to cover the margin of the blank. The bottom surface of the insole structure is coated with such cement so that when the outsole is to be attached, it is only necessary to apply a solvent to one of the coated surfaces.

and then press the outsole and the shoe together until the cement has set to bond the outsole as a unit to the shoe. I

By this construction, I am able to provide outsoles at a low cost which require a minimum of leather, have good wearing qualities, and are of attractive appearance. In the accompanying,

drawing, I have shown my invention as embodied in footwear of the play shoe type as such footwear well illustrates these and other novel features and advantages of my invention.

Fig. 1 is a bottom perspective view of a shoe in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of a shoe to which the sole is to be attached.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the sole, and

Fig. 4 shows a transverse section through a shoe severed adjacent the ball of the foot.

In Fig. 1, I have shown a shoe consisting of an upper 5 having an insole 6, a platform l5 stitched shown a fabric body or blank 9 substantially inthe shape of the sole and impregnated with a waterproof cement, such as pyroxolin cement. Cotton woven belting of 4 or 4 irons is well adapted for sucha blank.

.Letters Patent is:

To the edge of the blank 9, I stitch as by the zig-zag stitching S a trim H] of the same thickness as the blank 9. Preferably the trim is of leather and preferably it.is in the form of a strip which may be shaped to the blank 9 as it is stitched thereto. The trim Ill provides a reinforcing margin that not only eliminates fraying of the fabric at its edges as the shoe wears, but also provides a clean, neat edge capable of taking a high polish and gives the sole, in side view, the appearance of an all leather sole.

In the drawing I have shown, in the heel area, a heel portion ll stitched to the blank 9. The heel portion II is cutor molded to the correct size from a thermoplastic such as Vinylite and is of the same thickness as the blank 9 so that a neat joint is established. Heel portion I l is cross-stitched to blank 9 as by the zig-zag stitching S so that blank 9, trim l0, and heel portion Il may be handled as a unit.

The upper surfaces of the trim l0 and heel portion II andthe margin of the blank 9are coated with pyroxolin cement as at l2; Conveniently, the coat. l2 may extend about a quar ter of an inch inwardly from'the edge of the blank 9. The sole receiving surface of the shoe is provided with a coat, indicated at I3, of pyroxolin cement as shown in Fig. 2, so that the tached to the shoe. The impregnated blank 9 has i good wearing qualities and is acceptably waterproof and the trim It! serves both to givethe sole an attractive appearance and to provide reinforcement.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by 1. An outsole having a fore part and a heel part, said fore part comprising a sole blank imblank back to said heel part and of a width to constitute a substantial portion of the tread sure face of the fore part, and said heel part comprisstantially the same thickness as said sole blank and trim, and cross-fastenings connecting said fore and heel parts.

2. An outsole having a fore part and a heel part, said fore part comprising a sole blank of woven cotton belting impregnated throughout substantially its entire area with a waterproofing cement and a trim of substantially the same thickness as said blank fastened to and extend ing marginally around said blank back to said heel part and of a width to constitute a sub stantial portion of the tread surface of said fore part, said heel part comprising a heel blank abutting the ends of the trim and the rear edge of said sole blank and of substantially the same thickness as said sole blank and trim, means connecting said fore and heel parts, and a coat- 5 ing of waterproofing cement'applied to the upper 10 sole may be attachedto a shoe.

SAMUEL L; KLEVEN. 

